Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others — This morning, hundreds of Amazon Kindle owners awoke to discover that books by a certain famous author had mysteriously disappeared from their e-book readers. These were books that they had bought and paid for—thought they owned.

Verizon's Handset Concessions Target AT&T, iPhone — Updated: Verizon said today it will offer smaller carriers access to any cell phone model it uses — even those exclusive to Verizon. Carriers who have fewer than 500,000 subscribers will have access to phones after only six months …

Verizon to Limit Exclusive Handset Deals — Verizon Wireless said it will allow small wireless carriers to use the popular cellphone models Verizon offers exclusively more quickly. — The wireless phone giant announced the change in a letter to key lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have been pressuring …

App stores are not the future, says Google — Apple customers may have downloaded 1.5bn applications from its AppStore in the past year for their iPhones and iPod touches, but the service does not represent the future for the mobile industry, according to Google.

Slowing down the Netbook train — Cheaper or faster? — That's going to be the burning question for computer shoppers perusing the aisles of electronics retail stores this fall. That's when the new line of notebooks powered by consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) chips will start appearing in force.

The Future of Search: Social Relevancy Rank — FriendFeed has recently launched a search feature, and so Facebook search must be coming soon. — Real-time Web search (of streams of activities) is a hot topic right now. Everyone, including Google and Microsoft, recognizes the value of using trusted contacts as filters.

How Google Made Its Q2 Numbers: Squeezing Expenses — Google made its earnings numbers yesterday, actually coming in above expectations. Total revenues were $5.5 billion, 3 percent above the same period last year and flat with the first quarter (when sequential revenues actually declined).

App Store Lessons: No promo codes for apps rated 17+ — Developers whose apps meet the criteria for a 17+ rating in the App Store are now running into yet another roadblock, but this time it's not about getting their apps approved, it's about distributing them. Or, more specifically, distributing promo codes for them.

Changes to IE8's First Run — This blog post details a change we're making to IE8's first run experience, previously described in other posts here and here. The goal of the IE setup experience is to put IE users in control of their settings and respect existing defaults.

Google to monetize Voice via ringback advertising auctions? — The newly announced Google Voice looks like a great service that should ease your communication problems on multiple devices significantly. — And Google is already thinking of the ways of monetizing Voice. In a way it knows best - through advertising.

Is Google optimizing Chrome 3 for Windows XP netbooks? — Download Google Chrome 3.0.193.1 for Windows from Fileforum now. — Over the last few weeks, Google has been releasing development builds of its Chrome 3 Web browser in a fast and furious pace. And with each release …

Data Overload on Dating Sites — The information overload caused by too much choice could have lessons for other websites. — Consumers can find more of what they want on the Web, but that may not always be such a good thing. New research about online dating sites shows that users presented …

A Hollywood Blogger Feared by Executives — Right now, there's a good chance a Hollywood executive is leaning into a colleague's office and quietly asking, “Did you see what Nikki just wrote?” — That would be Nikki Finke, a well-traveled newspaper reporter who has found her moment as a digital-age Walter Winchell.

Serious doubts — I've never doubted the viability of running a serious business of writing iPhone apps before. For the first time, now, I am. — App Review is problematic when the delays are longer than a few days. Since its inception, having submitted applications about 12 times …

Yahoo!'s Earnings Quagmire — The company reports July 21, and results likely won't be good. — BURLINGAME, Calif. — Brace yourself for no surprise: When Yahoo! announces second-quarter results July 21, earnings are going to be bad. With house prices down, travel down and recession-battered consumers …

Cisco's upside potential — When the economy finally gets back on track, the networking giant will play a key role in some of tech's biggest trends. — NEW YORK (Fortune) — There have been a string of tech companies signaling that for their business at least, the worst may be over.

New Tools to Secure a Compromised Account — In our continued battle against cyber criminals, one of the biggest challenges we face is helping people whose accounts have been compromised by spammers understand how it happened and how to fix the problem. The vast majority of people …

How much did shutting down McColo help? — On 11 November 2008 McColo, a Californian server hosting company, was disconnected from the Internet. This took the controllers for 6 major botnets offline. It has been widely reported that email spam volumes were markedly reduced for some time thereafter.

Spotify Looks For A New Tune — The London online jukebox is launching in the U.S. later this summer. — LONDON — The way Americans listen to music online might be about to change. Music-streaming Web site Spotify, an online software program that gives Internet users instant and free access …

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